Zookeeper
| runtime = 102 minutes | country = | language = English | budget = $80 million | gross = $169.8 million }} Zookeeper is a 2011 American romantic comedy film starring Kevin James and featuring the voices of Nick Nolte, Sylvester Stallone, Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, Cher, Jon Favreau, and Faizon Love. The film contains computer-animated for the animal characters, it was the first film by Sandler's production company Happy Madison, to be released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, alongside with Columbia Pictures as usual. The film was released on July 8, 2011.It revolves around an unlucky zookeeper who turns to the animals at his zoo to help him find love. Plot A zookeeper named Griffin Keyes (Kevin James) sets up a plan to propose to the love of his life Stephanie (Leslie Bibb), but she rejects him and claims that his career as a zookeeper is what is keeping her away, therefore breaking Griffin's heart. Five years later, Griffin is shown to be the lead zookeeper at the Franklin Park Zoo who cares deeply for the zoo animals. That night, Griffin holds a party at the zoo for his brother Dave (Nat Faxon) who is getting married, but freaks out when he discovers that Stephanie was invited. Dave offers Griffin to come and work with him at a car dealership, explaining that it is the best way to get Stephanie back. Griffin contemplates quitting his job at the zoo and joining his brother at the dealership. Later, the animals hold a meeting saying that they think Griffin is the best zookeeper at the zoo and don't want him to leave, so they decide to find some way to help him win Stephanie's heart. Jerome the Bear (Jon Favreau) suggests that they teach Griffin their animal mating techniques, but Joe the Lion (Sylvester Stallone) protests, reminding them that it's against the animal code to talk to humans. Donald the Monkey (Adam Sandler) says that Stephanie will be at the zoo tomorrow, and all the animals have to do is make Griffin look like a hero in front of her. The next day, Donald unlocks the door to the lion enclosure and lets Joe out, who confronts Stephanie and Dave's fiancee Robin (Steffiana de la Cruz). Kate (Rosario Dawson), the zoo's vet, manages to get them away from Joe, but Griffin fails to jump into the lion enclosure, ruining the animals' plan. When he climbs out of the enclosure, Joe yells at Griffin, causing Griffin to believe he has gone mad. The next night, all the animals break their code of silence and tell Griffin that they will teach him what to do to win Stephanie. Griffin learns their different mating rituals, but ends up humiliating himself in front of the other zookeepers and the guests. Griffin then has a talk with Bernie (Nick Nolte), a forlorn gorilla who was moved into a deep enclosure after allegedly attacking a zookeeper named Shane (Donnie Wahlberg). Bernie explains to Griffin that Shane abuses the animals and he fell when he was abusing Bernie. He lied and said that Bernie attacked him, causing Bernie to lose his trust in humans. Griffin discovers that Stephanie is dating her other ex-boyfriend, a bullying alpha-male named Gale (Joe Rogan). Joe's mate Janet (Cher) tells Griffin that the best way to attract a female is to be seen with another female, so Griffin asks Kate to go with him to Dave and Robin's wedding. Griffin then takes Bernie to T.G.I. Friday's and they bond, with Bernie telling Griffin that he's his best friend. Griffin and Kate go to the wedding and seem to have fun together. Griffin becomes brave enough to stand up to Gale and this grabs Stephanie's attention. After Kate tells Griffin she had a great time with him, Stephanie asks Griffin out to dinner. Griffin accepts and they go to dinner and then go to a fashion show. Stephanie tells Griffin that his job at the zoo is holding him back, so Griffin decides to quit his job and accepts Dave's offer, which upsets Kate. Bernie also becomes upset and tells Griffin that he thought he could trust someone again, but was proved wrong when Griffin quit his job. Kate decides to leave the zoo and accepts a job in Nairobi. Griffin becomes the best employee at the car dealership, but misses working at the zoo. Stephanie proposes to Griffin, but Griffin refuses and dumps her. He then goes back to the zoo and apologizes to Bernie, who accepts Griffin's friendship. The animals then tell Griffin that Kate is heading to the airport. Griffin heads out to stop her, though he does make a stop first to beat up Shane. Then, with Bernie's help, Griffin manages to catch up with Kate on the bridge and confesses his love for her. Six months later, Griffin and Kate are back working at the zoo and Bernie is now living in a new enclosure where he gets a great view of the city. When Bernie asks what a "Benihana" is, Griffin asks Bernie if he still has his iZod. As the credits start rolling, it shows outtakes of the film and the animals singing to the tune of "More Than a Feeling." Years after the events of "Zookeeper", Griffin sees a child murdered by Bernie, and leaves the state, later changing his name to "Paul Blart". He starts a new life, and somehow obtains a hypoglycemic medical condition. Paul Blart lives in West Orange, New Jersey, with his teenage daughter, Maya, and mother, Margaret. Aspiring to join the New Jersey State Police, he trains at the police academy, but his hypoglycemic medical condition causes him to collapse, therefore failing the exam. To shape up for his career, Blart works as a security guard at the West Orange Pavilion Mall. Cast * Kevin James as Griffin Keyes, the lead zookeeper. * Rosario Dawson as Kate, Griffin's friend and the zoo's veterinarian. * Leslie Bibb as Stephanie, Griffin's antagonistic love interest who turns down his marriage proposal because of the job he has. * Joe Rogan as Gale, Stephanie's alpha-male ex-boyfriend. * Nat Faxon as Dave Keyes, Griffin's brother who convinces Griffin to work at his car dealership. * Ken Jeong as Venom, Griffin's friend and the worker at the reptile house. * Steffiana de la Cruz as Robin Keyes, Dave's fiance later turned wife. De La Cruz is the real life wife of Kevin James. * Thomas Gottschalk as Jürgen Mavroc * Donnie Wahlberg as Shane, an abusive zookeeper * Brandon Keener as Nimer Voices * Nick Nolte as Bernie the Lowland Gorilla * Sylvester Stallone as Joe the Lion * Adam Sandler as Donald the Capuchin Monkey * Judd Apatow as Barry the Indian elephant * Cher as Janet the Lioness, Joe's mate * Jon Favreau as Jerome the Grizzly Bear * Faizon Love as Bruce the Grizzly Bear * Maya Rudolph as Mollie the Reticulated Giraffe * Bas Rutten as Sebastian the Wolf * Don Rickles as Jim the Bullfrog * Jim Breuer as Spike the Crow * Richie Minervini as Elmo the Ostrich Category:2011 films Category:English-language films Category:American children's films Category:American romantic comedy films Category:American films Category:Films set in zoos Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Category:Films directed by Frank Coraci Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Films shot in Massachusetts Category:Happy Madison films Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:Films about animals Category:Films produced by Adam Sandler Category:Rated PG movies Category:Kevin James films Category:Adam Sandler films